


charm my heart

by renjwns



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, M/M, and one of them is witch lele, cat familiar jisung, chenle has his lilac hair, halloween is over but i have dreams, happy birthday chenle my angel, i only mention it once but its very important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 08:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16698955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renjwns/pseuds/renjwns
Summary: coming from a long line of witches, zhong chenle has had magic sparking from the tips of his fingers for as long as he can remember.





	charm my heart

**Author's Note:**

> this idea came to me randomly and i proceeded to ignore all my responsibilities to write it in a day

coming from a long line of witches, zhong chenle has had magic sparking from the tips of his fingers for as long as he can remember. growing up under the roof of one of the most powerful witches of the current generation, chenle could do complex spells at the young age of eight.

all his life, he’s been put on the highest of pedestals by the rest of the magic community; praised heavily for his accomplishments and criticized even heavier for the smallest of mistakes.

chenle’s tired.

static buzzes in his ears from the quiet of the night as chenle walks down the sidewalk, snot running from his nose and a backpack hanging limply from his shoulder. he wasn’t sure what time it was but by the lack of cars and people, as well as the dark windows of the houses he passed, he assumed it was well past midnight.

earlier that night, chenle had gotten into an argument with his parents. he’d gotten his test back from one of his weaker classes and was horrified to find that he’d gotten a ninety-five; not because of the fact that he thought he’d done horrible, but because of the fact that that’s exactly what his parents will think.

 in their eyes, anything less than a perfect score was considered a failure.

chenle had done his best to hide the test from his parents, but he should’ve known better than to think he could get away with keeping secrets from a witch of his mother’s power. the scolding was harsher than usual, his mother’s anger only fueled by the fact that he’d tried to get away without a punishment.

the young witch could feel the stress and frustration piling up as his mother went on and on, his fingernails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood.

“i’ve given you nothing but the best for your whole life but all you’ve done is disappoint!”

at his mother’s words, chenle felt something inside him snap and without a word, every piece of glass in the house shattered. his father, who had been silently glaring at him from the kitchen table, let out a surprised yell as the glass from the kitchen cabinets fell around him.

chenle didn’t stay still for long, a fully packed backpack appearing in his hands with the snap of a finger and then he was rushing out the front door, the heavy wood slamming behind him.

it wasn’t until he was safely out of his neighborhood that chenle let the tears fall.

he knew it was stupid, running away from home like some child, but he’s done nothing but _studystudystudy_ since the second he could read and he just needs some time to _breathe._ he needs to escape his parent's overbearing ways, even if it’s only for a night.

_your parents aren’t very happy with you_

chenle jumps at the new voice in his head, looking down to find a black cat walking beside him. chenle sniffs, “when are they ever happy with me.” he lifts his sleeve up to wipe at his nose. “what do you want, are you here to scold me too?”

the cat breathes out heavily through its nose, _don’t be ridiculous. i’m here to make sure you don’t get yourself into trouble. i know how you are when you’re upset._

chenle keeps quiet,  instead focusing on where he’s walking. they arrive at a small park about a mile or so away from his house and chenle is quick to make his way over to the large tree in the middle, throwing himself onto the ground below it.

“why doesn’t anything i do make them happy, sungie?” chenle mumbles, his cheek squished against the dirt. he doesn’t receive a reply right away. there’s a small flash of light to his right and then his backpack is being pulled out from where it’s squished between chenle and the tree. there’s some shuffling around before jisung enters his sight, fully clothed in his human form.

“you know they’re proud of you, lele, they were just. . . raised differently. you’ve met your grandparents, your parents were raised the same way they’re raising you. they’re convinced what they’re doing is right.”

chenle feels more tears well up in his eyes before they drip freely down his face, wetting the dirt beneath him. “i’m—i’m just so _tired_ all of the time. i haven’t slept more than four hours in three days because i’ve done nothing but study, but nothing i do is ever good enough for them.”

chenle lets out a sob and curls into himself, shoulders shaking and his breathing unsteady. “i hate them, i hate this town, and i hate being a witch.”

jisung moves slowly as if he’s scared too much movement will frighten the witch. he places a hand on chenle’s cheek and gently wipes away his tears. “i wish i could do more to help you, but i can’t. i can’t do anything about your parents and i can’t somehow make you human, and i may not be able to do it permanently, but i can get you out of this town, even if it’s just for tonight.”

the crying stops almost immediately, turning into occasional whimpers instead. “you. . . can get me out of here?” chenle asks quietly, reaching up to play with the fingers still resting on his cheek. jisung nods.

“there’s a human town a little less than a mile from here, i have a friend who lives there.”

“you’re friends with a human?”

“not exactly, it’s a long story.” jisung stands up and offers a hand to chenle, who takes in with a gentle smile. the familiar pulls him up and reaches out to wipe the dirt from chenle’s cheek, well aware the witch could just use magic to clean himself.

chenle thanks him and grabs his forgotten backpack, shaking it clean before unzipping it. he pulls out a map, the paper yellowing from years of use (and possible coffee stains), and unfolds it, holding his arms out so that the whole thing is visible. “do you remember the name of the town?”

jisung hums and moves to stand behind chenle so he can see the map. his eyes scan the different places for a moment before he reaches out to point at one of the dots, his elbow resting on chenle’s shoulder. “this is it.”

the witch squeals and turns around, jisung’s arm falling back to his side. “ahh, sungie, this is so exciting! it’s our first little road trip together!” chenle grabs jisung’s hand and tugs him a little, beginning to move across the park, leaving the familiar no choice but to follow. “hurry up, i wanna get there as soon as possible. do you think any of the shops will be open? i wanna get a souvenir.”

jisung smiles softly, looking down at chenle’s hand wrapped in his. “maybe. don’t worry, we’ll get you something to remember the town by.”

 

-

 

_chenle, i don’t think this is the right way._

the wind had grown slightly harsher, making the witch and his familiar shiver. ten minutes into the trip, jisung had given up on walking and shifted back into a cat, opting to sit on chenle’s shoulder instead and rest his eyes.

that was over an hour ago.

“i know what i’m doing sungie, be quiet.”

_the town wasn’t even a mile from the park and we’ve been walking for over an hour. we should’ve arrived by now._

chenle squints at the map as if it’ll help him read the thing better. “i’m one of the best witches in my town, i think i can handle a little map reading.”

_lele, i have no clue where we are and neither do you. just use some magic or something to help us get there._

“no,” chenle refuses, his lips pulling down into a frown. “i don’t need it, i can do this perfectly fine without the help of any stupid magic.”

jisung stays silent after that, deciding to leave the witch to try and figure things out on his own. he leans over to rub is head against chenle’s cheek, letting out a small purr. chenle cracks a small smile and pats him on the head.

“sorry, i just—i wanna be able to do things on my own without having to rely on magic. everyone's always going on about how great of a witch i am, but what does it matter if i’m useless without magic?”

_you’re not useless without magic, you’re just used to using it, as all witches are. that’s not your fault. you're perfectly capable of doing things without it._

chenle goes to reply but cuts himself off with an excited yell when he looks up and catches the sight of a sign along the road. “sungie, sungie, i know where we are!” he points to a place on the map when jisung peers down at it, circling it with his finger. “we’re right here. so, if we take the next turn on the right, we should be there in no time!”

_told you that you could do it._

chenle grins, “thanks, jisung.” he glances down at the map before turning down a different road. “you should shift back into your human form, i’m starting to feel a little lonely.”

_i’m literally on your shoulder._

“it’s different! it feels more like i have company when we’re having an actual conversation out loud instead of me talking to myself and you replying in my head.” 

the weight of the cat disappears from his shoulder and chenle feels a hand reach into his backpack to grab the extra clothes he had packed in there. the witch stops walking and a minute later, jisung steps beside chenle with a scowl on his face. “i hate changing forms.”

“it can’t be _that_ bad.”

“it _is._ every time i change back into a human, i’m always naked and it’s cold out, chenle.”

chenle snorts and slips his hand into jisung’s, giving his hand a squeeze. “i always have clothes for you to put on, do i not? don’t be ungrateful.”

jisung smacks chenle roughly on the shoulder but the witch only laughs. “oh hey, we’re here,” jisung says, looking forward and pointing at the town’s sign and the strip of shops ahead of them. chenle gasps and takes off towards them, ignoring jisung yells for him to slow down and wait for him.

the people in the town turn to give him a quick, questioning glance, but otherwise pay him no mind. chenle’s surprised to see so many people out at such an hour. do humans not sleep?

“one of these days, you're going to get yourself lost,” jisung pants when he comes to a stop beside him, placing his hands on his hips.

“i already got lost today, remember? keep up, sungie, your cat brain is getting to you.”

jisung sighs, not bothering to reply, knowing that it’ll start an argument that he’s aware he won’t even have a chance of winning.

chenle moves onto the first shop, looking around at everything, eyes wide with curiosity while jisung just tags along behind the witch, watching him fondly. this is how the rest of the night (technically morning) goes until it’s about an hour until sunrise and jisung finds himself in a costume shop.

“hey sungie, come over here!” chenle calls out from the other side of the shop. jisung flinches and gives the shopkeeper an apologetic smile, the lady just giving him the same glare she’s been giving the two since they walked in.

jisung walks to the other side of the shop, only to find chenle decked out in a blue rob with a fake wand in his hand. he turns away from the mirror in front of him when jisung walks up. “hey, ji,” chenle picks up a blue hat from the floor and places it on his head, striking a pose, “do you think other witches would be more accepting of me if i bought a pointy hat?”

jisung lets out a laugh, reaching out to flick the boy on the forehead. “i think you look ridiculous.” despite his words, jisung has to stop himself from pinching the witch’s cheeks. “we should probably head back, the sun will rise in about an hour and your mother probably won’t be happy if we come home later.”

at the mention of home, chenle’s smile drops off his face completely, replaced with a small frown. “right, forgot we have to go back,” he mumbles, taking the hat off his head. jisung takes it from him and ruffles his lilac hair.

“i wish we could stay, but even if we tried, your parents would just find us and bring us back.” jisung waits for chenle to finish putting back the costume to take his hand and pull him out of the shop. “just a few more years, then we’re adults. when that happens, i’ll get you out of there.”

chenle glances over at him. his eyes look a little shiny, but jisung doesn’t comment on it. “promise?” he asks, holding out his pinky. jisung nods, linking their pinkies together.

“promise.”

 

-

 

the sun had just risen by the time the two reach home, beams of light casting a glow on the neighborhood. along the way, chenle had grown tired and jisung had offered to carry him on his back, where the witch was now asleep.

jisung doesn’t bother trying to be quiet when he opens the door, letting the wood slam against the wall. chenle’s parents are already awake, rushing around the house with papers and books piled high in their arms. his father pauses when he notices the two in the doorway. “oh look, you’re back. almost thought you’d run away for good.”

“as if you’d let us get away with that,” jisung replies, not letting the conversation go on any further as he makes his way upstairs to chenle’s room.

chenle’s bedroom is cluttered but in more of a homey way than a messy way. it’s the only part of the house that actually looks lived in and not out of some home interior catalog. jisung places chenle down on his bed and pulls off his shoes before placing the covers over him.

he stares at him for a few moments before going to leave the room, only to stop when a hand grabs his wrist. “don’t,” chenle mummers into his pillow, his grip tightening. “stay in here tonight.”

jisung nods and goes to pull chenle’s hand off him. “okay, just let me change.”

chenle shakes his head, releasing jisung’s wrist. “no, stay human. wanna cuddle.”

the familiar snorts, but does as he’s told. jisung pulls off his shoes and coat before pulling up the covers so he can slip in beside chenle. as soon as he’s settled, chenle scoots closer and shoves his face into jisung’s chest, causing a laugh to escape him. jisung wraps an arm around chenle’s shoulders and places a hand in his hair.

“can’t wait to leave here with you,” chenle mumbles, trying to keep his eyes open. “gonna live in a cozy little home in a human town where no one expects me to be perfect. maybe i can meet your not-really-human friend.”

“i’m sure he’ll love you, he’s got a thing for small and cute things,” jisung replies, rubbing circles on chenle’s back.

“careful who you’re calling small, i could make you a frog instead of a cat.”

“i know,” jisung says fondly.

chenle reaches up to grab onto the front of jisung’s shirt, clenching it in his fist. “just a few more years and we’re free,” he slurs, his eyes finally slipping shut as he gives into sleep.

jisung brushes his hair out of his face and places a kiss on his forehead. “just a few more years, i promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> in case anyone is wondering jisung's friend is jaemin bc im also jaesung's bitch
> 
> happy chenle day go wish him a happy birthday or you're going to hell xoxo
> 
> \- shan 181121
> 
> [twit](https://twitter.com/ykhvis) // [cc](https://curiouscat.me/minsngs)


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